1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel supply apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In a known fuel supply apparatus, a flange, which is installed to a fuel tank of a vehicle (e.g., an automobile), is connected to a pump unit, which is placed in the fuel tank and pumps fuel out of the fuel tank, through support shafts.
For instance, Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-248801A teaches a fuel supply apparatus, in which a flange is connected to a pump unit through multiple support shafts. When the flange is connected to the pump unit through, the multiple support shafts at multiple locations, respectively, it is possible to limit a deviation (positional deviation) in an installation position of the pump unit in the fuel tank upon application of vibrations. Such vibrations include, for example, vibrations generated from the pump unit at the time of pumping the fuel and/or vibrations generated at the time of driving the vehicle, to which the fuel supply apparatus is installed. The positional deviation of the pump unit may possibly cause deterioration in a fuel processing performance, such as a fuel delivery performance of the pump unit. Therefore, in order to ensure the required product quality, it is important to limit the positional deviation of the pump unit.
The installation position of the flange relative to the fuel tank is determined based on, for example, locations of fuel conduits and electrical wires on the vehicle. The installation position of the pump unit in the inside of the fuel tank is determined based on, for example, a configurations of the fuel tank and of the pump unit. Thereby, the installation position of the flange and the installation position of the pump unit are determined to satisfy the different requirements. Therefore, for example, in the case of the fuel supply apparatus of Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-248801A, the installation position of each support shaft needs to be changed every time one of the installation position of the flange and the installation position of the pump unit is changed. Therefore, it will deteriorate a versatility of the fuel supply apparatus, i.e., a capability of the fuel supply apparatus to be used in various applications (e.g., various types of fuel tanks).
Furthermore, in the fuel supply apparatus of Japanese unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-248801A, a resilient member, which urges the pump unit, is exposed in the inside of the fuel tank. Therefore, when the pump unit is moved relative to the support shaft due to, for example, the deformation of the fuel tank, the resilient member may possibly interfere with other components (e.g., an electrical line, which supplies an electric power to the pump unit, and/or a tube, which conducts fuel from the pump unit to the outside of the fuel tank) of the fuel supply apparatus. The above interference may possibly disadvantageously cause generation of noises due to, for example, a collision between the resilient member and the other components.